With the advent of advanced networks, high-performance CPUs, large-capacity memories and external storage devices, and advanced software environments, apparatuses which are not connected to a network so far are beginning to be connected to the network. Furthermore, apparatuses which are connected to a network so far have many advanced functions, and demands have arisen for addition of programs which are to run on these apparatuses after the apparatuses are started, and version-up of these programs. Also, demands have arisen for systematic management of application programs to be installed, and installation of application programs via a network in apparatuses such as a printing apparatus, device control apparatus, and the like which have no external storage media such as a CD-ROM, floppy® disk, and the like unlike normal computers.
For example, in a conventional system, an application program is downloaded from a host computer to a terminal apparatus via a network, and is installed in the terminal apparatus (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-190472 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,969)). In another conventional system, an application program is downloaded from a download site on the Internet via a management gateway, and is installed in an apparatus (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-222500 (corresponding U.S. Publication No. US-2001-002914-A1)).
Furthermore, a demand has arisen for simultaneous management and control of application programs on apparatuses connected to networks in public facilities such as government and other public offices, schools, and the like, offices and factories of companies, and the like.
However, in the aforementioned conventional system, installation of an application program via a network is made in a one-on-one manner between a management apparatus that manages application programs and a terminal apparatus as a destination of installation. If there are a plurality of terminal apparatuses on which application programs are to be installed, the installation process must be executed by connecting the management apparatus to each terminal apparatus as a destination of installation, resulting in troublesome processes and poor efficiency.
As the number of terminal apparatuses increases, the load on the installation process becomes heavier, and human errors such as installation of a wrong application program, installation failures in some terminal apparatuses, and the like are more likely to occur, resulting in inaccurate program management.
The other conventional system considers only installation of application programs, but does not consider any control for making each terminal apparatus execute delete, launch, and quit processes of application programs, setup processes of execution environments of application programs, and the like via a network. Hence, the demand for simultaneous management and control of application programs on apparatuses connected to a network is not met.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the aforementioned problems, and has as its object to provide a technique that allows efficient and accurate program management.